TIP: Do you need to drink 2 liters of water each day?

Actually I should drink more water - Useful tips. Everywhere we see them: people with a bottle of water from which they take a drink. In almost all health advices, it is recommended to drink 1.5 to 2 l (= 6 to 8 glasses) of water daily. Sometimes it is even said that we should drink 1.5 liters of water on top of all other drinks. However, such advice lacks any scientific basis, as was recently reiterated in the Dutch Journal of Medicine. We do not have to drink that much and secondly, we do not just have to drink water.

A healthy adult loses about 1 l of fluid every day through the skin (sweating), breathing and bowel movements, plus a variable amount via the urine. That moisture needs to be supplemented via food and drink to keep the moisture balance in balance. Through our diet and normal metabolism we get about 1 l of fluid per day, depending on the type and amount of food and on energy consumption. The rest must be delivered via drinks. The urine production per day thus determines the minimum amount a person must drink daily. Under normal circumstances, about 500 ml of fluid is needed every 24 hours to allow our kidneys to produce enough urine to be able to remove all waste. 10 Ways to keep your kidneys healthy. All urine that is produced more is separated as 'free water'. Under normal circumstances, a healthy adult should therefore be able to drink 0.5 l per day. Everything you drink more is simply excreted.

If additional moisture loss occurs, the moisture absorption must of course be increased accordingly. For heavy sweating, for example, the loss can go up to 1.5 l per hour. Increasing the fluid intake is also necessary for the elderly and for people with a kidney problem. We also need much more fluid for fever, diarrhea, vomiting etc. But in normal circumstances you do not have to walk around with a bottle of water all day and compulsively to swallow your liters of water, it is usually enough to drink when you feel thirsty. Of course it can not hurt to drink more, because normal kidneys are able to excrete excess water. But it is not necessary, nor does it make you better, as is sometimes claimed. Water with minerals is better than just tap water.

For example, it has not been proven that drinking a lot of water can help prevent the occurrence of certain disorders, such as bladder and colon cancer. Whether drinking a lot of water would have a beneficial effect on the skin through improved circulation, blockage or headaches can help prevent rubbish or toxins, improve short-term memory, protect the body from external shocks via water in and around the body tissues, or muscle and joint problems would help prevent the water in the limbs, muscles, connective tissue and cartilage in the joints. Drinking plenty of water does reduce the risk of kidney stones and urinary tract infections. Extra water just before the meal contributes to eating a smaller portion, but a final weight loss effect has not yet been adequately demonstrated.

Secondly, it is a myth that we should primarily drink water to keep our fluid balance in balance. Contrary to popular belief, all potable substances count, including coffee, tea, herbal tea, milk products, fruit and vegetable juices, soup, soft drinks, beer and wine, etc.
That coffee or tea will increase urine production, which means that we would lose more fluid, is incorrect. Caffeine provides a faster, but not for more excretion of moisture. Drinking a cup of coffee has exactly the same effect as drinking a glass of water, at least as far as the moisture supply is concerned.

Alcohol does have a diuretic (diuretic) effect, at least if we have drunk several glasses.
As far as soft drinks, fruit juices, milk products, etc. are concerned, we have to take into account that they also contain energy (calories) in addition to water. What happens in your body if you drink soda. This may be less desirable in the context of weight control. But as far as the moisture supply is concerned, they are equivalent to water.

So there are no convincing arguments to go through life with a bottle of water. The best thing is that you drink according to your thirst. Let your body decide how much water it needs and never drink large quantities at once.